Money Blog - Preparing for gift season

THE SCENARIO It's time for the end-of-year holidays, and for most people that means a large outlay of money to buy gifts for friends and relatives. Many of the gifts we buy, however, haven't become available right at the end of the year, and it's therefore not necessary to buy everything right before the holiday. If I would spend $1,200 on gifts for my friends and family this year, but instead buy those items throughout the year when they're on sale (at a 10% discount), what would my ROI be? Assume that I spend money evenly every month for the whole year.
THE SOLUTION The first thing we have to do is figure out how much money I spend each month on discounted gifts that I'll give to folks at the end of the year. $1,200 works out to 1,200 / 12 = $100 per month. I'm getting a 10% discount on the items I buy... Read more...